Coal-handling system



F. E. ARNDT. -coAL HANDLING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION EILED MAR. 26. 192|.

'Patented Anm l5, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET i.

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F. E. ARNDT.

COAL HANDLING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION EILED MAR. 26, 1921. A., Patfmted Aug. i5, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

F.E.Am\m,- COAL HANDLING SYSTEM. APLICATION FILED MAR.25, 1921.

Patented Aug'. lf', 1922.

3 SHEETS--SHEET 3.

caricao FRANKLIN E. ARNDT, OF GAIIION, OHIO, .ASSIGNOR TO TH GALION IRON WORKS &

MFG, OO., OF GALION, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO. '1

COAL-HANDLING SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 15, 1922.

Application le-d March 26, 1921. Serial No. 455,901.

dling Systems, of which the .following is a specification.

This invention relates to elevator and handling systems, and particularly to those handling systems which are principally used for handling coal but which may be used for handling other materials wherem the coal or other material is discharged from a car, is then elevated by means of a bucket, and is then carried by the system to a point of discharge.

In certain systems known to me and which are in general use today, the coal is discharged from the car into a bucket which is carried upward to a suitable height, then carried laterally to the point of discharge and then the bucket is opened to discharge the coal or the bucket is lowered toward the coal dump so as not to break the coal, and the bucket opened to discharge the coal. The bucket isthen raised again, carried back to the point where it was initially elevated and lowered into position to receivea fresh charge from the car. Such a system as this involvesa considerable loss of time, inasmuch as the single bucket is caried through 'the path above described.

The general object of my invention is to provide a system which will not involve this loss of time and wherein an elevator bucket is used by which the coal or other materials are elevated from the car level to any desired height, and in which a secondary or travelling bucket is used into which the first named -bucket discharges, which travelling bucket is then shifted to the point of discharge and discharged while the `first named bucket or elevator bucketv is returned to its receiving point.

A further object is tol provide a contruction of this character in which the movement of the two buckets may be controlled Iby a single operator.

Other objects will appear in the course of thefollowing description. 4

My invention is illustrated in the accom'- panying drawings, wherein Figure .'51,` is a. diagrammatic elevation of my elevating and conveying or coal handling system;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Figure l; v

'Figure 3 is an elevation of the bucket andthe carrier therefor partly in section;

Figure 4 is an end elevation of the-*supporting rail and its sheaves; 1

Flgure 5 is a fragmentary end elevation o f the lower end of the bucket;

jFigure 6 is a side elevation of the outer]` end of the supporting rail 24 and the sheaves connected therewith;

Figure 7 is a top plan view of the construction shown in Figure 6;

Figure 8 isa front elevation of the cable controlling drums;

Figure 9 is an end elevation of controlling drums;

Referring to these drawings, and particularly to Figures 1 and 2, itwill be seen that I have provided that the coal is hoisted andthe hoisting bucket discharged to recelvmg position by means which is djescribed, illustrated and claimed yin mv Patent #1,318,47 2, vgranted on the 14th day of October, 1919. Thel structure for the cable primarily hoisting the coal comprises a tower, designated 10, which may be of any suitable construction and which is provided with upwardly extending guides 11. The lower ends of these"rails or guides extend down into a pit 12, into which discharges a laterally disposed chute 13, the upper open end of this chute being disposed beneath the track supporting the car A. The discharge from this chute is controlled by a movable chute section 14, which in turn' is controlled by an operating lever or other suitable means. Coacting with the rails 1l is a bucket 15 which, in its receiving positlon, is disposedwithin the pit l2, the chute section 14 when. it -is lowered discharging into this bucket and when it is raised permitting the 'bucket to move Vertically upward on the rai-ls 11 toward the upper end of the tower 10.

The rails or trackways 1l at their upper ends turn laterally, as at 16, the bucket having wheels adapted to be shifted onto said laterally proilecting section to overturn the bucket. he bucket is connected by a cable to a hoisting means. This cable at one end is operatively connected to the direction wheel 18, then diagonally down- Q3 Marissa ward to a second change direction wheel .means is believed to be necessary.

. 19, and then downward and laterally over a Wheel 2O and then directly do-wnward to the primary hoisting drum 21. When this drum is rotated in one direction, the bucket 15 will be raised until it reaches the laterally directed portion 16 of the track. rllhe -bucket shifts outward on this track and overturns to discharge its conten'fts. When its contents have :been discharged, the bucket is returned to its initial position in the pit 12. The mechanism above de- 35. Attached to the carriage 26 is a cable 36 which extends from the carriage over one of the wheels 30, then around the wheel 29 and then longitudinally over the other wheel 30and passes over the wheel 32 and then downward .to one of the hoisting drums, as for instance the hoisting drum 37 (Fig. 8) which is disposed in alignment with the hoisting drum 21 and is disposed at the base of the tower 10 or inany other suitable location.v

To the other end vof the carriage'is conscribed is well known and is that described\\nected the cable 38 which extends over the in my patent before referred to. ljlence no detailed description of this holsting The coal which is discharged from the bucket 15 is intended to be discharged into a second bucket or carrier, this being mountved for movement upon a supporting struc- `ture into any desired location over a dump.

This secondary supporting structure, which extends laterally or in any other desired direction from the tower 10, is designated generally 22 and is made up of angle` or channel iron providing a plurality of supporting legs 23, as they may be termed, connected at lntervals by transverse and diagonal braces, struts, and tie rods. The details of this structure involve no invention and, therefore, further destruction is not believed to be necessary.

Carried upon the supporting structure at its upper end and extending longitudinally of the -supportingbstructure 1s an I-beam 24, and also carried on the supporting structure in such position that it will receive the coal discharged from the bucket 15 is a hopper 25 which discharges downwardly and toward the point beneath the I-beam 24. The carrier whereby the secondary bucket is supported to travel upon the I-bearn 24 consists essentially of two oppositely disposed webs or plates 26 having four supporting wheels 27 disposed at the upper corners of the plates and running upon the lower flange of the I-beam 24. The plates 26 forming the carrier are rigidly braced from each other in any suitable manner forming no part of this invention but which is illustrated in detail in my application for paten filed of even date herewith.

F or the purpose of shifting this carrier longitudinally along the beam 24, 1 mount at one end of the beam the bracket 28 (Figs. 6 and 7) which carries the horizontally disposed grooved'wheel or sheave 29 and also carries the pair of vertically disposed grooved guide wheels 30 which are so related to the wheel 29 as to prevent a cable from running off this wheel 29. At the opposite end of the beam 24 there is supported a yoke 31 (see Fi 4) which depends below the beam vand wicirich carries upon it four grooved wheels or sheaves 32, 33 and 34 and grooved wheel 33 or transmission cable sheave, then extends downward to the drum 39 which is disposed immediately adjacent the drum 37 and preferably upon the same shaft. These drums are capable of being independently driven and independently released from the driving means so that when one drum is operated one of the cables, as for instance the cable 36, will rbe wound up on the drum and the other cable 38 paid out, and when the other drum is operated, the cable 36 will be paid out and the cable 38 wound up on the drum. Therefore, the carriage can be by this means shifted longitudinally upon the track formed by the I- beam 24 to any desired position. rllhe carriage'is limited in its movement merely by ilghe stop blocks 40 mounted upon the I- eam.

supported by means of a cable' so that the bucket may be raised andlowered. To this,

end, the carriage 26 is provided with a pair of grooved wheels 42 disposed between the plates forming the carrier 26. The bucket 41 is supported by means of a pair of channel irons 43 disposed above the bucket, to the ends of which channel irons are attached the downwardly extending hangers 44 which are oscillatably engaged with outwardly projecting trunnions 45 on the bucket in any usual or suitable manner. Also att-ached to these channel irons 43 and extending upward therefrom above the channel irons are su )porting brackets 46 which support the pulley 47. The cable 48 is attached at one end to the bracket 28 and extends therefrom longitudinally of the beam 24, extends over one of the pulleys 42, then downward and beneath the pulley 47, then up and over the other pulley 42, then laterally and over the sheave 35, this lelevatorvcable then passing downward over the hoisting' drum 49 disposed at the base of the tower 10 and in line with the drums 21, 37 and 39. Byoperating the drum 49, therefore, it will be obvious that the bucket 41 may be raised or lowered, and by operating the drums 37 and 39-it will be obvious that the carriage 26 with the bucket 41 may 24 to any desired position on the structure v37 and 39 are manipulated 'so as to cause the carriage'to travel back to its original position and the bucket 41 tov be so disposed as to receive material from the hopper While I do not wish to be limited to any' bles 55, and the consequent lclosingof the doors, the spring 54 relieving strain.

For the purpose of holding the doors closed until the buckets havel lowered sufficiently so as to approximate the pile of material -onto which the bucket is to be discharged, I have illustrated in F ig. 5 'the bucket asiprovided'with door locking and tripping mechanism comprising crossed supporting bars 65 which are pivoted to the bucket at 66 and-to each other at 67. Each bar extends downward, outward and slightly particular manner of so constructing the\upward at itsouter end, and pivoted to the bucket that it will open to discharge its contents when it is lowered and automatically close tov receive a new charge when raised, l

l-i'ave illustrated for this purpose the bucket which is fully described and claimed in my- -pending applications for patent filed of even ldate herewith, Serial #455,902 and 455,903,

. but this is purely illustrative and I do not wish to be limited to this particular construction, as other buckets adapted to' operate in this manner might be used.

The bucket 41 is shown as being provided at its lower end with two doors 50 hingedly mounted at 51 upon the side walls of the bucket and normally disposed in a downwardly convergent relation but capable of swinging into a parallel vertical position.

v Attached to the ends of these doors and ex:`

teriorly of the' end walls of the bucket-are the irons 52 angularly bent at their upper ends, through which angular lbent ends pass rods 53, which. in turn extend through coiled compression springs 54 and are provided with nuts or heads at their lower ends bearing against these springs. The upper ends of these rodsl are engaged with cables 55 which pass over the sheaves 56 mounted -upon the end walls of the bucket. These cables then extend upward, two cables at each end of the drum, and are engaged with the pairs ofv winding wheels 57 which are operatively moii'nted at the ends of and upon the I-beams 43. Each pair of these winding wheels 57 is mounted upon a shaft-58, which shaft carries upon it a pinion 59 .engaged by a vertically shiftable rack 60 operatmg in guides 61. When the doors 50 are opened, that is, when they are in their vertical'position, the racks 6()y are upwardly projected. Coacting with thesev racks 60 are vertical stops 64 each formed of a U-shaped strip of metal which at its upper end is riveted or bolted to the side plates of the carrier 26.

It will be -obvious now, if the doors be opened and the bucket is moving upward, that when the bucket arrives at a predetermined distance from the carrier 26, the upper ends of the rack bars 60 will strike against the stops 64 and as the bucket moves still further upward, these rack bars will be depressed,.thus causing the rotation of the shafts 58, the winding up of the small ca- \extremity ofeach'bar are a pair of links 68 which at thelr upper ends are vpivotally connectedby means of a transverse pin 69 to a pair of links 70, in turn pivoted at its upper end to the door by means of the angle irons 71 and the transverse pin 72. Disposed below the doors are the horizontally extending vangle irons -73, these angle irons at their extremities being pivotally connected by means of a transverse pin 74.to the lower ends-of a pair of links 75; These links extend upward on each side of lthe links 68 and are pivoted to the pin 69 whichpivotally connects these llinks to the link 70. The members 75 extend beyond thepin 69 and are provided at their extremities with a cross pin 76 which is adapted to bear against the link 70. When the links 68 and 70 are in line with each other, the doors'50 are'held closed, but when the links 68 and 70 are broken at the joint formed by the pintle 69, the links can fold with relation to, each other and then the doors 50 will swing open. The breakingof these links 68 and 70 at the vjoint is caused by the angle' iron 73 striking the ground or Y the pile of material upon which the material in the bucket is to be dumped. When these bars 73 strike the pile, they will be raised, thus shifting the links 68 and 70 into angular relation and permitting the doors to open.

l As the doors swing downward, they pull on the cables 55. These cause the rotation of the shafts 58 and the consequent upward movement of the rack bars 60; The bucket is now elevated by the hoisting mechanism and when the bucket reaches a proper distance from the carriage 26, the upper ends of the rack bars strike the stop 64 and as the 'bucket still further rises these rack bars 60 a pinion 79 loosely mounted upon a longitudinally extending power shaft 80 driven by any suitable motor. rlhe pinions for the drums 37 and 39 are provided with facing clutch elements 81 and 82, and mounted upon the shaft 80 for rotation therewith and shiftable into or out of engagement with either one of the clutch elements 81 and 82 is the sliding clutch member 83 controlled by a lever 84. When the lever 84 is shifted in one direction, the clutch element 81 will be engaged with the shaft and the drum 39 will be driven, and when..

the clutch element 83 is shifted in the opposite direction the drum 37 will be driven. When one drum is driven the other runs idly. Thesedrums 37 and 39, as before stated, are operatively connected to the cable whereby the carriage is shifted along the ll-beam 24. The drum 49vis likewise driven by a loose pinion mounted upon the shaft 80, this pinion being operatively engageable with the shaft 80 by means of a clutch 85 of any suitable construction actuated by means of the lever 86. When this lever is shifted in one direction, the hoisting drum 49 is operatively engaged with the shaft 80 to thus cause a positive rotation of the hoisting drum and the elevating of the bucket 41. When the clutch is thrown out, however, the weight of the bucket 41 will cause it to descend. The hoisting drum 21 may be operatively connected to the shaft 80 by means of aV clutch 87 operated by the lever 88, or kis disconnected therefrom by shifting the lever in the opposite direction and thus the hoisting cable of the primary bucket may be ralsed' or lowered to raise or lower the primary bucket.15.

F or the purpose of holding the hoisting drums 21 and 49 so as to support the hoisting buckets in their raised positions or releasing said drums to permit the hoisting buckets to move downward, I have associated with each pinion 79 and mounted upon the same shaft brake drums 89 having brake bands 90. Each of these brake bands is engaged by internally screw-threaded collars 91 mounted upon a reversely screwthreaded shaft 92 upon which the levers 86 and 88 are mounted whereby the oscillation of said levers in one direction or the other will cause the brake bands to bindl upon the brake drums or release the brake drums. Thus when the corresponding clutch is thrown out by shifting the lever in one directionl for a predetermined distance, the corresponding drum will be left free to rotate, but upon a further movement of the lever in the same direction the corresponding brake band will be contracted upon the drum to brake it, and obviously upon the reverse movement of the lever the brake band will be released, and upon a further k15., and thus the bucket 15 may Matese ject matter of a separate application' for patent. Hence the details of the drum driving and controlling mechanism are not illustrated.

1t will be noted that the bucket 41 as illustrated is twice the capacity of the bucket have a capacity of 1,400 poundsof coal, while the bucket 41 ma have a .capacity of 2,800 pounds of coa or the bucket 41 may have any other desired capacity or the bucket 41 may have a capacity equal to or more than double that of the bucket 15.

1n operation, the coal or other material is discharged fromthe car A into the bucket 15 and t e operator then throws in the clutch of drum 21 and the bucket 15 is hoisted and discharges 'into the hopper 25.

At this time, the bucket 41 is in its raised .drums of thischaracter, andthen releases a like brake on the hoisting drum 49, permitting the bucket to move downward by its own Weight until the cross bar 73 strikes any impediment, whereupon the doors are opened and the material is discharged from the bucket 41.

As soon as this has been done, the operator connects the hoisting drum 49 with the Shaft 80 by means of the clutch, and the cable 48 is wound up on the drum until the bucket 41 is hoisted sufficiently to close the doors at the bottom of the bucket. The operator then releases the brakes on the shifting drums 37 and 39 and connects the drum 39 with the shaft 80, causing the carriage to return to its original posltion with the bucketbeneath the hopper 25. Where the bucket 41 is twice the size of the bucket 15, the bucket 15 will have to be elevated twice in order to load the bucket 41 but as soon as the bucket 41 is loaded it can immediately move off to its position of discharge simultaneously with the descent4 of the bucket 15 intothe pit 12, and while the l wherein the bucket 15 is raised and then moved laterally and their lowered to discharge it, then afrain raised and brought back to its original position and again lowered. It is obvious, of course, that, as stated, t-he bucket 41 may have a cubical content three or four times greater than that of the bucket 15. In that case, the bucket 15 would have to be raised three or four times before the bucket 41 would be filled, but the principle of operation remains the same'.

While I have illustrated certain details of construction as regards the drums for operating the buckets, as regards the construction of bucket 41, and the means whereby its doors are opened and closed, I do not wish to be limited to these details, as other means might be provided for controlling the movement ofthe buckets and controlling the opening and closing of the doors of the bucket 41.

1. A handling system including in combination a material carrying bucket movable in an approximately horizontal lane toward or from a charge receiving position, manually controlled means for` raising lor vlowering thebucket, means for discharging the contents of the same, a hoisting bucket, and manually controlled means for raising or lowering the hoisting bucket from and to its receiving position and causing it to discharge into the carrying bucket when the latter is in its receiving position.

2. A handling system including an elevated structure, a carrying bucket operatively supported by saidstructure and movable therealong from or toward a receiving position and movable vertically with relation to the structure, manuall controlled power operated means for s ifting the bucket from or toward its receiving position, manually controlled power operated means for raising and lowering the carrying bucket, means for discharging the contents of the carryin bucket when it has been lowered to a pre etermined position, an elevating bucket adapted to discharge its contents into the carrying bucket when the latter is in its receiving position, and manually controlled means for raising or lowering the elevating bucket from its receiving to its discharge position and vice versa.

3. A handllng tsystem including an elevated structure and carrying bucket opera-l tively supported by said structureand movable therealong from or toward a receiving position and movable vertically with relation to the structure, manually controlled, power operated means for shifting the bucket from or toward its receiving position, manually controlled, power operated means for raising or lowering the bucket, means for discharging the contents of the carrying bucket when it lhas been lowered to a predetermined position, a towerformmg part of the elevator structure and having tracks, an elevating bucket mounted for movement on said tracks'and adapted when hoisted to a predetermined point to discharge its contents into the carrying bucket when the latter is in its receiving position, and manually controlled,` power operated. means for raising or loweringfthe elevating bucket.

4. In a handling system, an elevated structure, a carrying bucket operatively support. ed by said structure and movable therealong from or toward a receiving position, man` ually controlled power operated means for shifting the bucket from or toward its receiving position, manually controlled power operated means for raising or lowering said carrying bucket when the latter is out of :its

`'receiving position, means for causing the dismounted upon the elevated structure and adapted to discharge into the carrying bucket when the latter is in its receiving position, a hoisting bucket mounted upon the structure, means for causing the automatic discharge of said hoisting bucket into said hopper when the bucket-is hoisted to a predetermined point', and power operated manually controlled means for raising the hoisting bucket from its receivin to its discharge position and returning the ucket to its receiving position. e

5. A. handling system `including an elevated structure, a carrying bucket operatively supported upon said structure and movable therealong from or toward a rel ceiving position, manually controlled power operated means for shifting the bucket toward or from its receiving position, manually controlled power operated means for raising or lowering the carrying bucket when the latter is out of its receiving position, contact operated means for discharging the contents of the carrying bucket when the latter is lowered, a hopper mounted upon the structure and adapted to discharge intov the carrying bucket when the latter is in its receivingposition, ahoisting bucket movable from a receiving position to a discharging position above the hopper, means for automatically causing the discharge of the hoisting bucket into the hopper when the able therealong from or toward a receiving position, manually controlled power operated' means for shifting the bucket from or toward its receiving" position and including cables and a drum fQI' 63,011 cable, manually cont-rolled power operated means for raising or lowering said carrying bucket and including a cable, a winding drum for the cable, a hopper mounted upon the structure and adapted to discharge into 'the carrying bucket when the latter is in Aits receiving position, a hoisting bucket adapted to discharge into said hop-per, means for automaticall causing the discharge of said hoisting buc et into said hopper when the hoisting bucket is raised to a predetermined point, manually controlled power operated means for raislng or lowering the hoisting bucket including a cable and a drum, a driving shaft for said drums, and manually operable means for connectinv' any one of said drums to the driving shatt and disconnecting it therefrom.

7. A handling system comprising an elevated structure having a support-ing horizontally disposed rail, a carrier having wheels engaging said rail, a sheave mounted in one end of said rail, vertically disposed sheaves mounted' at the other end of said rail, a cable connected to the carrier passing around the first named sheave and over one of the second named sheaves and then eX- tending downward, a cable connected to the carrier and extendlng over the other one of said second named sheaves andthen downward, power operated manually controlled winding drums to which said cables are connected whereby to shift the carrier backwards and forwards along the rail, a bucket supported by the carrier, a supporting cable connected to the bucket, sheaves mounted upon the carrier and the supporting rail over which said last named cable passes, the cable Lezama then extending downward, a power operated manually controlled drum for the last named cable whereby the cable may be wound up or unwound to raise or lower the bucket, means for automatically discharging the contents of the bucket when the bucket is lowered to a predetermined point, a hopper mounted upon said structure adjacent one end of the rail and adapted to discharge into the bucket when the bucket is in its receiving position at this end of the rail, a hoisting bucket mounted upon the structure for movement toward or from a discharging position above said hopper, a cable connected to the hoisting bucket, a sheave mounted upon the structure and over which saidy cable passes, and a power operated manually controlled winding drum coacting with said cable.

8. A handling system including in combination a materlal carrying bucket movable toward or from a charge receiving position,`

a vertically movable holsting bucket adapted when raised to discharge into the carrying bucket when the latter is in its charge receiving position, manually controlled means for raising or lowering the carrying bucket, manually controlled means for shifting the carrying bucket toward or from its charge receivmg position, manually controlled means for raising or lowering the hoistin bucket from and to its receiving position, a l of said manually controlled means being located in relatively close proximity to each other, and means for discharging the contents of the carrying bucket. y

In testimony whereof I aliX my signature.

FRANKLEN E. ARNDT. 

